Source: # The Three O'Clock Waker – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do *From the book – Chapter 13: Sleep, Food and Movement* ## The Three O'Clock Waker Meera, 52, runs a small provision shop in Nashik. For two months she has woken at three every morning, heart heavy, mind replaying old worries. She cannot fall back to sleep, so she lies listening to the milk vans and scrolling her phone until dawn. By afternoon she is foggy and short with customers. She drinks four cups of tea to stay upright, then naps for two hours on the shop stool, which makes the next night worse. Her daughter notices that Meera has stopped going for her evening walk and says the shop no longer interests her. ## What this story explains Poor sleep and low mood feed each other. Good sleep habits help, but early-morning waking with a flat mood can point to depression and deserves a doctor's attention. ## How to recognise it - Waking much earlier than needed and unable to fall asleep again, most nights for weeks. - Tiredness, fog and irritability in the daytime, with reliance on tea, coffee or screens. - Loss of interest in usual activities along with the sleep change. - A long daytime nap or irregular bed and wake times that keep the cycle going. - The problem lasts beyond two weeks and affects work or family life. ## What to do 1. Note bed time, wake time, naps and caffeine for one to two weeks. 2. Fix one wake time every day, including Sundays. 3. Keep tea and coffee to the morning; keep the phone out of the bed. 4. Get morning daylight and a short walk daily. 5. Keep naps under thirty minutes and before mid-afternoon. 6. If low mood or poor sleep continues beyond two weeks, see a doctor. ## Do and don’t **Do** | **Don’t** | Keep a regular wake time. | Do not lie in bed scrolling for hours. | Get daylight early in the day. | Do not take sleeping tablets from friends. | Wind down for an hour before bed. | Do not blame yourself for poor sleep. | Share the sleep diary with the doctor. | Do not nap long in the afternoon. | Be patient; sleep improves gradually. | Do not ignore low mood as just ageing. | [Read the full chapter – Chapter 13: Sleep, Food and Movement](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/chapter/13/) ## Stories from real life - [The Three O’Clock Waker](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-three-oclock-waker-53/) – Meera, 52, runs a small provision shop in Nashik. For two months she has woken at three every morning, heart heavy, mind replaying old worries. She… - [Maggi at Midnight](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/maggi-at-midnight-54/) – Kabir, 17, has board exams in three weeks. He skips breakfast to save time, grabs a samosa at lunch, and by evening is starving. At midnight… - [Counting Every Step](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/counting-every-step-55/) – Grace, 29, a marketing executive in Manchester, started jogging to feel better after a breakup. Soon she was running twice a day, even with a sore… - [Kavita, Age 34](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/kavita-age-34-168/) – Thirty-four-year-old Kavita felt as though she were constantly running on empty. She was exhausted all the time, her mood was perpetually low, and she had secretly… ## Shloks - [Bhagavad Gita 6.17](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/shloka/bhagavad-gita-6-17-22/) – For one who is moderate in food and recreation, moderate in work, and moderate in sleep and waking, yoga becomes the destroyer of sorrow. More on this topic: [Sleep problems, food and daily routine for a healthy mind](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/topic/sleep-food-routine/) ## More questions - [Maggi at Midnight – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-maggi-at-midnight/) - [Counting Every Step – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-counting-every-step/) - [What can we learn from the story “Kavita, Age 34”?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-kavita-age-34/) - [Why lifestyle matters?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/why-lifestyle-matters/) - [Understanding sleep – sleep, food and movement](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/understanding-sleep-sleep-food-and-movement/) - [Why sleep is essential?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/why-sleep-is-essential/) - [How much sleep is needed?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/how-much-sleep-is-needed/) - [What are the signs of sleep, food and movement? Signs of poor sleep](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-are-the-signs-of-sleep-food-and-movement-signs-of-poor-sleep/) - [Sleep and specific mental disorders – sleep](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/sleep-and-specific-mental-disorders-sleep/) - [Healthy sleep habits (sleep hygiene) – sleep](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/healthy-sleep-habits-sleep-hygiene-sleep/) - [How to sleep better – habits that help](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/how-to-sleep-better/) - [Food, mood and emotional eating](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/emotional-eating/) [myadvisorfriend@gmail.com](mailto:myadvisorfriend@gmail.com) · [Contact](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/contact/) · [About](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/about/) · [Privacy](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/privacy/) · [Disclaimer](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/disclaimer/) --- *Psychology for Everyone – A Mental Well Being Series* by Satish Zope · free to read · Contact: [myadvisorfriend@gmail.com](mailto:myadvisorfriend@gmail.com) · [About](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/about/) · [Privacy](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/privacy/) · [Disclaimer](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/disclaimer/)